Firms’ Learning Capabilities under a New Economic Environment: A Case Study of Mexican Auto Parts Firms

The study presented in this paper describes preliminary findings on changes in the adoption of different learning mechanisms before and after the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), based on a study of 193 Mexican automotive firms. The results obtained give us useful insights on the composition and capability levels of the sector as well as highlighting changes in the research and development capacity of these firms under the new competitive market conditions.

Location of Industry R&D and the Location of University R&D - How are They related?

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the locational relationship between industry R&D and university R&D in Sweden using a simultaneous equation approach. Results indicate that the location of industrial R&D is quite sensitive to the location of university R&D, and that the location of university R&D is sensitive to the location of industrial R&D.

Why Dont Recessions Encourage More R&D Spending

The paper examines how recessions affect R&D spending -- one such channel for growth during times of reduced profits, according to economist Joseph Schumpeter. If production suffers during recessions while R&D does not, then recessions should be an ideal time to seek out and develop new ideas and products. However, empirical evidence shows that R&D tends to fall during recessions, not rise.

O Brother, Where Art Thou? The Effects of Having a Sibling on Geographic Mobility and Labor Market Outcomes

This paper formulates a model to explain how parental care responsibilities and family structure interact in affecting childrens mobility characteristics. Siblings compete in location and employment decisions so as to direct parental care decisions at later stages towards their preferred outcome.